in searching among dutch masterpieces of literature we find that their greatest epic is "joannes boetgezant," or john the messenger of repentance. this epic in six books, on the life of john the baptist, was written in 1662 by vondel, and bears many traits of resemblance to milton's paradise lost.
it has been conjectured that the most famous of all the animal epics or beast fables originated in flanders or luxembourg, which for a time was included in the low countries. this epic, which has been translated into every european language and has even found its way into the far east, has been frequently remodelled. the oldest extant ms. in latin dates back to the eleventh or twelfth century. among modern versions the most clever, finished, and popular is goethe's "reinecke fuchs."[33]
in this poem he describes how the animals assemble at whitsuntide to complain to their king, noble, the lion, about the dark deeds of reynard the fox. the main grievance is that of isegrim, the wolf, who claims reynard blinded three of his offspring and insulted his wife. speaking french, the lapdog wackerlos next pathetically describes how he was robbed of a sausage, which the tomcat vehemently declares was his.
having heard the depositions of the wolf, the dog, the cat, the panther, and the hare, noble is about to sentence the delinquent, when grimbart, the badger,—uncle of reynard—rises to defend the accused. artfully he turns the tables and winds up his plausible peroration with the statement that reynard, repenting of all past sins, has turned hermit, and is now spending his time in fasting, alms-giving, and prayer!
just as noble is about to dismiss the case as non-proven, henning the cock appears, followed by his sons, who bear on a litter the mangled remains of a hen, strangled by reynard, who slipped into the chicken-yard in the guise of a monk.
the king immediately dispatches brown the bear to malepartus to summon reynard to appear at court. on arriving at his destination, the bear, although still resenting the king's recommendations to be wary, allows himself to be led to a half-split tree-trunk, within which reynard assures him he will find stores of honey to refresh himself. just as soon as the bear's nose and forepaws are greedily inserted into the crack, reynard slyly removes the wedges and decamps, leaving the bear a prisoner and howling with pain.
his roars soon attract the peasant and his son, who beat the captive until he wrenches himself loose, at the cost of some patches of skin and of a few claws. the bear, returning to court in this plight, is taxed with stupidity and greed, and hintze the cat is sent to summon reynard to court. the cat, hungry also, is led to a small opening in a barn which reynard declares is swarming with mice, but where the poor tomcat is caught in a trap, whence he escapes only after having received a beating and lost one eye.
his woful report decides the king to send grimbart the badger to summon his nephew to court. reynard receives this emissary most courteously, and, on hearing the king will raze his fortress if he does not obey, sets out for court. on the way reynard begs grimbart to act as his confessor, and, having unburdened his conscience, does penance and receives absolution. but scarcely has this ceremony been completed when reynard, spying some fat hens, begins to chase them, and is only with difficulty recalled to a sense of what is fitting.
on arriving at court, reynard hypocritically regrets so many people have slandered him to the king, and tries to refute every charge. he is, however, sentenced to the gallows, but even on the road thither devises a plan to escape. pretending regret for his past, he humbly begs the king's permission to address the spectators, and in a lengthy speech describes how he was led astray in his youth by isegrim the wolf. he also declares his only regret is to die before he can reveal to the king the hiding-place of a vast treasure which would enable him to outwit the plots of some rebels who are even now conspiring to kill him. the king, hearing this, immediately orders a reprieve, and, questioning the fox in secret, learns that the conspirators are brown the bear, isegrim the wolf, and others. to reward the fox for saving her husband's life, the queen now obtains his pardon, which noble grants in exchange for information in regard to the treasure.
having given these indications, the fox sets out on a pilgrimage to rome, escorted by the ram and the hare, which latter is slain as soon as they arrive at malepartus, where reynard wishes to bid his family farewell. after feasting upon the flesh of this victim, reynard puts his bones into a wallet and ties it on the ram's back, bidding him hasten back to court with this present and receive his reward! although circumstantial evidence is enough to convict the poor ram of murder, a few days later new complaints are made against reynard by a rabbit and a crow. noble, roused again, prepares to batter down the walls of malepartus, and grimbart, perceiving reynard's peril, hurries off to give him warning.
he finds reynard contemplating some young doves, upon which he intends to dine. on hearing what grimbart has to say, reynard declares it would be easy to acquit himself could he only gain the king's ear long enough to explain the real state of affairs. then he again begs grimbart to act as his father confessor, and, resuming his confession where he left off, makes a clean breast of all his misdeeds. shortly after this, reynard meets the ape, who tells him that should he ever be in a quandary he must call for the aid of this clever ally or of his wife.
at his second appearance at court, the fox openly regrets there are so many vile people in the world ready to accuse innocent persons, and proceeds to set all his doings in such a plausible light, that the king, instead of sentencing him again to death, allows him to settle his case by fighting a judiciary duel with the wolf. the preparations for the duel are ludicrous because the fox, advised by the ape, is shaven smooth, greased until too slippery to be held, and duly strengthened by advice and potations. blinded by the sand continually whisked into his eyes by the fox's tail, unable to hold his all too slippery opponent, the wolf is beaten and the fox acquitted by the judgment of god!
although noble now offers to make reynard his privy counsellor, the fox returns home, where his admiring wife and children welcome him rapturously.
in some versions of the tale reynard further avenges himself by suggesting, when the king is taken ill, that he can be cured if he eats the head of a wolf just seven years old, knowing the only wolf of that age is isegrim, who throughout the epic is fooled by the clever fox, the hero of endless adventures which have delighted young and old for centuries.
